Two years on. Time to reflect

It's almost two years since my diagnosis. I had no idea two years ago where my diagnosis would take me.

Two years ago I was ill. I was really ill. I had painful sinusitis, conjunctivitis, an odd rash all over my torso and my gums were very swollen and painful, making it very difficult to eat. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't ignoring these symptoms. I'd been to the dentist and I was taking antibiotics to cure what I thought was an impacted wisdom tooth and associated infection. The antibiotics weren't doing much though, and after an emergency appointment at the dentist, I went to see my GP who signed me off work and ordered blood tests. That evening I received the phone call. The one all blood cancer patients seem to get. "You need to go to hospital now. Pack a bag, you'll be staying in".

Monday 8th December 2014. That's when I was told I had acute myeloid leukaemia and would require intensive chemotherapy and extensive stays in hospital to have a chance of surviving it.

Fast forward two years and Tuesday 6th December 2016 is looking a whole lot better. I am very proud to be saying I will be attending Christmas with The Stars in aid of Bloodwise at The Albert Hall with my sister, Clare, my life saving stem cell donor. I'm so proud to have been asked to be a Bloodwise Ambassador. When I was in hospital receiving treatment I found the Bloodwise website and their patient voices. I personally found it really useful to be able to blog about what I was going through. It helped me crystallise my emotions and put things behind me. I also found the support of fellow patients invaluable. I hope I can offer comfort and support to other patients facing their own battles with blood cancer now and in the future. I'm also keen to raise the profile of Bloodwise to help raise funds so that Bloodwise can continue funding vital research into new and less invasive treatment options for patients. I've personally found myself not responding to conventional treatment options so I know how vital this research is. I wouldn't be here without it. I'm very much looking forward to the event and also to continuing to represent Bloodwise in the future.

Comments

Hi Jane, thank you so much for writing this blog. It is so thoughtful of you to want to offer comfort and support to other patients going through their battles with blood cancer. Blogs such as these can offer so much support to those going through similar things and lets people know that they're not alone. I'm really glad that you found blogging useful for you as you went through such a difficult time. It's so good to hear that things are looking a whole lot better for you - long may this continue. We are proud to have ambassadors like yourself, thank you for everything you do to support others and raise awareness of and represent Bloodwise. I hope you and your sister enjoyed Christmas with the Stars last night! Wishing you all the very best, Alice